Light sources, such as light emitting diodes (hereinafter “LEDs”), have relatively high operating temperatures. In order to increase the overall lighting brightness, a plurality of LEDs is often incorporated into a single lamp, which generates a high amount of heat. Conventionally, the heat generated by the LED lights is dissipated by providing an enclosure that includes a housing with a plurality of fins extending therefrom. The LEDs are fitted on a heat sink puck within the housing. On the opposite side of the heat sink puck, LED drivers are mounted. Any increase in temperature of the LEDs increases the temperature of the drivers. Further, as the LEDs and the LED drivers are mounted on the same heat sink puck, the heat dissipation capacity of the enclosure is reduced. Further, absence of any thermal barrier between the LED drivers and the LEDs reduces the efficiency of the LEDs and performance of the LED drivers. Moreover, the heat dissipation efficiency of the enclosure substantially decreases as the heat dissipation is not uniform.
In addition, prior art LED fixtures have included a finless design using a single die-cast aluminum housing with integral globe collar, machined heat sink puck, stamped mounting plate, and globe (protective transparent cover which allows light from an LED to pass through). In this example, an LED array, LED driver, connectors, and terminal block are positioned within the enclosure. The LED array is mounted on the heat sink puck. The LED driver is mounted on the opposite side of the heat sink puck. In this example, a gap between the sides of the heat sink puck and the housing adds resistance to the flow of heat generated by the LEDs resulting in ineffective thermal utilization of the aluminum housing. Furthermore, having the LED driver mounted on the back side of the heat sink puck from the LED array results in an increase in the Tc point which may cause the LED driver to switch off and reduce performance.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an LED fixture with improved thermal performance.